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Hey dawgs, need advise / experience insight or whatever:
My 15 year old son has been diagnosed with a degenerative disc... thus pretty much ending his athletic career, football which is only good at was the sport he loved, but what really hurst is that as a sophomore he was going to be the #2 pole vaulter on his high school track team.
Besides the depression he is dealing with... does anyone know about spinal decompression and how (if) it works to alleviate pain?
The ending of sports is crushing for a kid who has enjoyed sports since age 6 but I am more ocncerned about his pain and the ongoing treatment to live as painfree as possible.
Thanks.
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I would suggest that you seek out people that also have this condition; people that have lived with it. Nobody is going to be able to relate to him... and he is not going to be able to buy into what anybody says - quite like someone that has "been there, done that".
In this day and age, there is bound to be something on the internet, somewhere. Perhaps some support groups, even.
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Yeah been scouring the internet... this is almost unheard of in 15 year olds, hard to find anyone he can relate too because of that.
I have founf some informatiomn, but again hard to ascertain what is real and what is a sales job.
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I have one disc in particular that has degenerated badly. The fluid in the disc dried out, and the disc collapsed on itself. It literally "smashed", and flattened out, pushing back into the spinal column, and against the nerves. That problem has been resolved for now, but I have other issues in my back that have proven much harder to track down.
I can't recall ever hearing about such a problem in someone so young, though. Usually it is the result of decades of wear and tear. and that loss of fluid over an extended period of time.
I have heard of some possible treatments that involve using a gel that hardens like a cartilidge to essentially replace a degenerated disc. I am looking forward to the day that becomes common practice, because I have several discs that are in degenerating condition.
Laser surgery is promising, but most insurance won't cover the facility charges. That can be a rather pricey bill, when added on top of deductibles and co-pays. I had looked into that, but the facility charges can be twenty thousand dollars and up.
I hope that you can find a solution for your son.I would assume that they are looking at some sort of stabilization surgery.
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I am so sorry to hear this buddy. You raised a fine son. Polite, well mannered, and smart. Sorry to hear about his back, and we will keep him in our prayers 
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Thanks. GM. We need all the prayers we can get. Quite a blow to be told at 15 your "career" is over. Depresssion is really the problem I see now, but GOD gets us through. It's all about the big picture. Funny, today a friend posted on face book two pictures of our sons ( 6 boys actually) lined up for a pee wee game at age 6 , and one when we lined them up together for their last game at age 12, we wanted to do it again at age 18 but only 5 will be playing... that kind of things make me kind of choked up and just shake my head... sad.  anyway he is a browns fan he is used to those diappointing WTF moments.
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Rough news for a person that young .
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I had a lot of back problems when I was young. I really didn't understand the severity of them until I was much older.
The only comment I can really make is that finding this out now, may greatly improve his quality of life over the long haul.
I hate to hear this news when it involves someone so young. My thought and prayers are with him and I wish him the very best.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
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Quote:
Hey dawgs, need advise / experience insight or whatever:
My 15 year old son has been diagnosed with a degenerative disc... thus pretty much ending his athletic career, football which is only good at was the sport he loved, but what really hurst is that as a sophomore he was going to be the #2 pole vaulter on his high school track team.
Besides the depression he is dealing with... does anyone know about spinal decompression and how (if) it works to alleviate pain?
The ending of sports is crushing for a kid who has enjoyed sports since age 6 but I am more ocncerned about his pain and the ongoing treatment to live as painfree as possible.
Thanks.
wow that sucks, is the disc herniated as well or just degenerative? I have both in my neck and herination in my lower lumbar. From many years of jumping out of airplanes for the 75th. Depending on the severity, he should be able to still be pretty active...football I understand due to the collisions and what not. But even with mine, I take anti inflammatories and have monthly traction theraphy. And i have a decompression table at home. I still play full contact flag football year round and basketball for 8 months of the year. I recommend looking into the traction, the anti inflammatories, and depending on how bad the pain is, epidural injections. I had those done about 3 months ago and did wonders. Biggest thing is keep him active, if he could get interested in another sport it would probably help with the depression. Sucks to happen to someone so young. Good luck!
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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My doctor told me to be very careful with decompression, like these gravity boots and such where you are upside down in an attempt to take pressure off of the spine. Depending on how the disc is damaged, you can do real harm with one of those. Same thing with traction.
I would recommend checking with your doctor before using anything like that. They are absolutely not for everyone.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
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I'm sorry to hear that, that's rough. Aside from not being able to play sports, how will the rest of his life be? Packed with pain and discomfort, or will he be able to function normally?
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I'm so sorry about this. Prayers to you and your family, especially to your son. I hope you can get some answers that can help him. Wish there was more I could do to help.
Last edited by sk8termom; 11/25/13 09:43 PM.
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Thanks for the support and prayers Dawgs.
Yes it is hernaited as well degenerative
after much review and study decided to go decompression route, first session yesterday, another today. Basicaly they work it like a rack and stretch it out a few inches.
Doctor hopes to make him pain free and allow to do some sports, maybe even football, Pole Vault is ouit though, says nothing is worse than PV, with the extension, twisting and then landing 15 feet below on a mat.
But Painfree and able to be active is like music to our ears,
Of course we all know that Pain Free and being a browns fan are mutually exclusive terms.
THanks, again, keeps us in your prayers.
Last edited by texaslostdawg; 11/26/13 07:42 AM.
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... keep us in your prayers.
Of course, tld. And please keep us posted...very best wishes for the both of you.
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From many years of jumping out of airplanes for the 75th.
Got to keep them feet and knees together .
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Quote:
Quote:
From many years of jumping out of airplanes for the 75th.
Got to keep them feet and knees together .
easier said than done with the dash ones..lol either land feet ass head or feet knees head
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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I always loved those night jumps with no moon and winds that were just this side of stupid . All the way down you were saying " Oh man this is gonna hurt " . Good times !
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I remember a night jump in germany, missed LZ by about 2 miles landed in a field of turnips....those sonsabitches hurt
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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Prayers for you all. Back pain sucks at any age; in younger folks it really stinks. Decompression is really a risk depending on what is done and by whom. Some experimental stuff with spacers is being done (not sure I understood my neighbor clearly) where they try to separate the disks and get the pressure off the nerves. Mom had part of her vertebra fixed with a glue for some fractures. Is this something that might require rods or are we talking trying stretch only? Seems that would not be structural enough for a fix. I would look for other experiences folks have had with this, and also keep in mind the age: Is the kid finished growing. This is tough news. Best of luck with it. I will ask a few friends for ideas. 
"Every responsibility implies opportunity, and every opportunity implies responsibility." Otis Allen Glazebrook, 1880
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The rods and glue would be used to fix a Pars defect or fracture. Those are breaks / cracks in the little wing like extensions on the vertebrae.
We were convinced that was the problem so we did xrays ( 3X) and found nothing, finally the MRI should the flattened out disc and it is hernaited.
The process now uses a chair that he is strapped into and strecteches his spine, the idea is to create a vacum where the snovial fluid, blood and nutients are sucked back into the disc and increase it's thickness.
They claim a 86% success rate and with core exercise the "bands" that surround the fluids in the disc are stronger than before. It's the breaking of these bands by injury, exertion whatever that allow the fluids to escape or the disc to herniate.
all I know is that I know wAAAY more about this stuff then I ever thought I would.
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Graf or Hoenfels ? One was almost as bad as the other although Hoenfels damn near drowned me in a tank ditch after the chute drug me in it.
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Graf, only did Hoenfels once for JMTC and it was uneventful, but I heard some pretty crazy stories about it. Were you attached to 173rd over there?
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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3/325 th out of Vicenzia . I loathed Hoenfels with a passion usually reserved for Ohio born Steeler fans .
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For those that expressed concern and kept us in your prayers. Prayers are answered after all I guess, Took my son to an Pediatric ortho Surgeon and he `was amazed that 1) First Specialist took him out of all sports and 2) 2nd specialst said fusion surgery. Bascically he told us you have a choice, be inactive and play video games in pain or be active, do sports and all the things you love and be in pain. My son admitted that he felt less pain last year when he played football with a bad disc then he does now. Surgery probably not going to solve pain and being inactive just makes it worse. So; Next week he starts back with pole vault, (this season probably a wash since season has started, so he will be regulated to JV, but WHO GIVES A CRAP, he is jumping again.)  and he is released to play football and baskeball again, just has to not due, squats and militray press. He still has to do PT twice a week and he has streteches etc daily ( and yoga !), but it's all good. Thanks to those who sent PM, prayers etc... we have been blessed. 
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That is fantastic news! 
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Excellent news! Sometimes I think doctors look for "simple" (for them, and profitable as well) solutions to problems.
Regardless........good news. I hope your son has experience in the pole vault. Why? I was a high jumper in track and field. Darn good too. Plus, ran the 400 and the mile relay. One day at practice, just for kicks, I decided to try the pole vault. Why? Well, I was athletic and I could do pretty much anything I wanted to, plus it looked fun.
Grabbed a pole, went down the runway, planted the pole - then realized I had no clue what to do next. I remember making it to about a 45 degree angle. At that point, my momentum was gone, and I was perpendicular to earth. Folks, there IS such a thing as gravity, and it won that day.
Fortunately, I woke up on the asphalt runway, with my track coach (and football coach) standing over me. He was caring ("are you seriously that stupid? What if you died? I'd have to drag your dumbass out of here:) He made sure I was okay ("get your dumbass up, don't let me ever see you near the pole vault again, and go run a mile:)
Technique is everything I think.
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LOL
yeah he has been jumping since 7th grade. Got to 13 6 last year as a freshman and was due to be #2 on the team this year.
Doubt he will ever be as good as his potential was before the injury, but who cares he is active again. !!
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I have lived with slight herniated disc for the past 22 years. Not enough to warrant surgery but I have times that just have to shut it down and give things time to get back to normal.
Anti inflammatory drugs help. I found that it is important to keep active and manage your weight, generally not a problem for a 15 year old.
I have an inversion table in my house as well.
Somehow, it does not make a lot of sense for a 15 year old diagnosed with a bad back, to continue pole vaulting. I would suggest that he consider an alternative form of activity, as difficult as that is to say.
I can ride a bike, and try to get in about a 100 miles a week between March and October. I have had fewer problems since I started riding a bike about 6 years ago.
I would also suggest swimming as a low impact activity on the back.
There will be no playoffs. Can’t play with who we have out there and compounding it with garbage playcalling and worse execution. We don’t have good skill players on offense period. Browns 20 - Bears 17.
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Thanks Charger,
Yeah I said the same thing about pole vault, but he says he wants to try so we agreed, we shall see when he starts up next week. He is more pumped he gets to play football again than anything
Do you like that inversions table? We have debated getting one, he did spinal decompression and that seemed to help, thought the table would do as well.
He is doing yoga and daily stretching with the trainer, will swim when the weather warms.
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Please check with your doctor before getting and using an inversion table. My doctor said that there have been problems with people with certain types of problems using those and making them worse. He would recommended that I not get one for my back, with the way my body is currently constructed. (I have put on significant weight since my back went bad) That weight gain, combined with the medication I am on, made him worry that I could have problems breathing if I used one of those, and could even die. Further, with my weakened core muscle structure, it could put unnatural strain on my spine in the opposite direction, and cause accelerated breakdown. Please check with his doctor before using one.
Further, you can get a solid stretch of the spine using a yoga block, without potential problems.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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will do YTown... good advice. Thanks
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Ytown has listed all the potential issues.
But I like it and it seems to help.
If you get one, don't go for the least expensive. The better ones are quite easy to enter, hold your feet securely and allow you to balance properly.
There will be no playoffs. Can’t play with who we have out there and compounding it with garbage playcalling and worse execution. We don’t have good skill players on offense period. Browns 20 - Bears 17.
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My friend is a back surgeon and he says chiropractors patients are his best source of customers.
GO BROWNS!
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My friend is a back surgeon and he says chiropractors patients are his best source of customers.
Your friend is a back surgeon. Enough said. I bet there's nothing he can't fix with surgery.
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Surgery made a night and day difference.
I use the inversion table when I know I need to and I don't stay on it for more than a couple of minutes, but it does help.
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A guy at work told me that hanging from a chin-up bar helps disc issues by aligning your vertabrae. Anyone know If that's true or just an old wives tale?
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I've got 3 of those in my lower back. The options are simple. He can become a Vicodin addict like me, or he can learn to live with it. My options are pills, physical therapy (which never helped), or surgery. I've been told my surgery option is rods and pins to fuse at least 4 vertebrae together, which I'm not ready to do yet. I'm taking pills until I can find a better surgical option. I also do my best to not let back pain rule my life, which is a huge struggle.
BTW, thank you football and other athletes for giving doctors a chance to be pioneers.
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I've got 3 of those in my lower back. The options are simple. He can become a Vicodin addict like me, or he can learn to live with it. My options are pills, physical therapy (which never helped), or surgery. I've been told my surgery option is rods and pins to fuse at least 4 vertebrae together, which I'm not ready to do yet. I'm taking pills until I can find a better surgical option. I also do my best to not let back pain rule my life, which is a huge struggle.
BTW, thank you football and other athletes for giving doctors a chance to be pioneers.
I was told there was nothing left to fuse. They did something called a lamenectomy/discectomy (sp). They clipped the bulging disc and routed out the inside of the vertebrae. I was walking that night and standing up straight. As of now, 3 years later, still no pain like that pain.
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Quote:
I've got 3 of those in my lower back. The options are simple. He can become a Vicodin addict like me, or he can learn to live with it. My options are pills, physical therapy (which never helped), or surgery. I've been told my surgery option is rods and pins to fuse at least 4 vertebrae together, which I'm not ready to do yet. I'm taking pills until I can find a better surgical option. I also do my best to not let back pain rule my life, which is a huge struggle.
BTW, thank you football and other athletes for giving doctors a chance to be pioneers.
I was told there was nothing left to fuse. They did something called a lamenectomy/discectomy (sp). They clipped the bulging disc and routed out the inside of the vertebrae. I was walking that night and standing up straight. As of now, 3 years later, still no pain like that pain.
I had one of those done.
Went into the operation in pain, came out in pain, still in pain ......... the disc is off the nerve, but that wasn't what was causing the pain. 
I am still hopeful that, as medicine advances, maybe they will find a solution for my back that doesn't involve flaying my back wide open just to see what's going on in there.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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